tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90255251852950215852024-02-18T23:21:02.680-05:00The Road to the FarmAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.comBlogger474125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-62808206000424247182017-04-25T08:00:00.000-04:002017-04-25T08:00:01.025-04:00Making it small
Now that I have a crawling, curious almost one year old, I feel myself wading more deeply in the muddy midst of parenting than I was in the first months after she was born. Some days it is a swamp of laundry piles, never ending food on the floor, and new messes sprouting up as quickly as I can contain the existing ones. Then there are moments of calm: sipping tea and chatting with Amos about Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-39944790122939532922017-03-22T08:41:00.001-04:002017-03-22T08:42:06.727-04:00Crunchy Vegetables and Bold Colors
At first it feels like gripping the textured plastic holds, twenty or thirty feet up in the air secured by a rope and a harness; unable to go any farther, readying to let go. That scary second of swinging free but no doubt that the rope will hold and you will be slowly let down until you touch the ground again. It's a feeling of jumping into the unknown when you really have nothing to Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-89240067608134023472017-02-16T13:33:00.001-05:002017-02-16T13:33:51.665-05:00A Practice of Warmth and Joy
I have always valued time to do nothing while I let my gaze and mind wander. I can think of many childhood moments watching rain drops slither across the car window or waking up and staring at a crack in the ceiling or the colored squares on a rug. Maybe you watch the clouds as they slowly morph from one shape to another or follow the patterns of the tiles on the bathroom floor. Our eyes and Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-28493744856377623832017-01-31T12:08:00.003-05:002017-01-31T12:08:49.429-05:00Letters and Numbers
It’s been a gray month. Many things have not gone as planned, many things have taken my mind far from the here and now and left my heart anxious. Though I wish I didn’t have reason to be marching and demonstrating twice in one week, I am truly heartened by the thousands and millions of people who are demonstrating, calling, organizing, giving, speaking out, reaching out in opposition to the Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-5524403468805397812016-12-16T08:00:00.000-05:002016-12-16T08:00:17.429-05:00Of Tiny and Big Things
This is the season of tiny and big things. Each morning Amos pulls a card from the advent calendar and I read him the activity that we will do (note to self: include a picture next year so he can figure it out). Making a citrus garland, cutting out snowflakes, going to see the lights on the trees in the park. We are fortunate to have the time and space and resources to make these little Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-35095386932452800252016-10-20T15:16:00.004-04:002016-10-20T15:16:44.181-04:00Here and Now
After months of simply imagining it could happen, we seem to have settled into a daily rhythm. We’re in a tiny sweet spot when things run smoothly, as smoothly as the rattling emotional roller coaster that is life with a three year old and five month old.
Amos
is learning and reaching so many new things. He is fast and steady on
his balance bike but also capable of loud and dramatic meltAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-8809086608838583092016-10-05T08:32:00.000-04:002016-10-05T08:32:25.099-04:00The Value is in Making
I am finally wearing the barn sweater which I cast on last October. I am not a fast knitter and sometimes I stall when I have to learn or figure out a new technique. I finally blocked, seamed and added buttons to it in September. Now that the days are cool and and an extra layer is welcome, I get to cover myself with a cozy, very imperfect hug that I know I will wear all the time. With Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-26572583865718476622016-09-08T13:26:00.000-04:002016-10-05T08:32:55.802-04:00They Shape You Instead
I was recently talking to a friend who is expecting her first baby in a few months. She mentioned that she didn’t want everything to be about the baby, which is totally understandable. Pregnancy is unique and special and yet totally mundane, an ordinary occurrence of biology and a small miracle that I hope she will celebrate a little bit. We all have our own experiences but there must be few Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-33333086999373719902016-08-24T09:07:00.001-04:002016-09-09T19:05:23.330-04:00August
August evening. Amos is making trains and mailboxes with his tegu blocks. He constructs something that he is using to pretend to cut grass on the rug. He asks me for a bucket, a pretend bucket. Here it is, I say, placing a pretend bucket near where he is working. Is it a tall one or a small one? He asks. Tall. I’m chimping the grass, he says. He likes to make up words and I am amused that his Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-5423755690910552932016-07-11T08:00:00.000-04:002016-07-11T08:00:05.552-04:00
For the first time in several years, I am growing food for myself again. We have a ten by ten plot in a community garden about a mile from our house. We have planted and tended this little plot as a family and I wanted to share a bit about the satisfaction and joy of growing some of our own food. But, at the same time, I have been thinking and feeling a lot about the state of the world and Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-57728914749608138642016-07-07T08:20:00.002-04:002016-07-07T08:20:52.309-04:00Cherry Vanilla Popsicles
Summer Summer Summer.
I really am trying to soak it all in. Windows open all the time, a hint of salt in the air. The morning and evening light. The heat of the day and the cool night air. Trips to our community garden plot before the sun gets too high when we marvel at how much the plants have grown in just a few days. Salads that taste better than anything we eat in the winter. Lying in Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-45833434856196240142016-07-01T12:14:00.000-04:002016-07-01T12:14:24.860-04:00Exploring
Summer has finally arrived in Maine, filling the sky with blue, warming the air to the perfect temperature, and leaving everything else astoundingly green. It is such a short season here, sometimes I start to panic (it's already July!!) and worry that we won't get to do all of the things that seem essential to a wonderful summer. Luckily, we've already made it to the beach a few times, Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-87691523523852968752016-06-17T07:35:00.002-04:002016-06-17T07:35:26.106-04:00Here
Our daughter, Eowyn, was born on May 3. She's growing so fast. Amos is madly in love with his little sister and we have been getting the hang of life as a family of four.
I am eager to get back to writing and creating but, except for some cooking and baking, I have found less and less time when I can do these things. But, as I sit on the porch under the big maple tree, rocking one baby Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-23284166197800602312016-04-21T09:29:00.001-04:002016-04-21T09:29:10.286-04:00Blueberry Oat Scones
How do you like your scones? I like mine sturdy, craggy, and a little bit chewy. They don't need eggs or cream, sugary glaze or extra adornment. I have, of course, found many great bakery made scones, but I love them best when I can mix them up on a morning's whim. That's exactly what I did today.
Perhaps it is misguided of me to think that something freshly baked, sweetening the airAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-44264350193459412972016-04-13T07:56:00.000-04:002016-04-13T07:56:12.926-04:00The Small Things, Always the Small Things
I am in that time of trying to slow down while also tying up loose ends and checking off the last things I want to accomplish. I am accepting that I won't have everything perfect before the baby comes which is fine because no matter how much I clean or prepare, it will be a mess again in a moment. I am glad that I am able to reflect a bit and do my best to enjoy these last Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-5844446674546553982016-03-25T09:00:00.004-04:002016-03-25T09:00:55.992-04:00Cloth Covered Rope Basket
Where did it come from? Who made it? Amos asks these questions all the time. My answers range from: I don't know to A farm or A cow or, often, probably a factory. Sometimes the answer seems simple, I made it. As I've gradually sewn things for our home, I can look around and see many things I've stitched together for the place that I spend most of my time. It is gratifying to make thingsAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-71181376556029486862016-03-17T10:47:00.001-04:002016-03-17T10:47:07.957-04:00Mascarpone Vanilla Ice Cream
More adventures in inspired re-purposing, which seems like the appropriate term when reducing waste is really about making the most delicious thing I can. Truthfully, there are some foods that have almost no chance of going to waste in our kitchen. Others must be carefully monitored and kept front and center so they will not stay in there long past their prime, but mascarpone, ricotta, or justAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-69956046301625222152016-03-10T16:26:00.001-05:002016-03-10T16:26:21.078-05:00Binding it together
My latest quilting endeavor is, of course, for our baby, due in about 8 weeks. I didn't have a specific pattern in mind but while browsing for ideas I came across the disappearing nine patch. I chose nine fabrics that I loved because they contrast with and compliment each other so well. My favorites are probably the three that I couldn't resist Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-72658911649767026982016-03-03T09:20:00.001-05:002016-03-03T09:20:31.751-05:00Oven Crisped Polenta Fries
I was talking to another mom today about how easy it is to rejoice when things seem to be going well and, for a few minutes or days, you feel like you've got this. And how, inevitably that feeling quickly gives way to disaster, confusion, and chaos. It is probably best to take it moment to moment without relaxing into a false sense of security and success, but that can be hard to do.
So I Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-64088242274710525932016-02-25T11:37:00.002-05:002016-02-25T11:37:43.887-05:00Kitchen Scraps for Dyeing Fabric
My most recent adventure in using my scraps and making the most of what I already have was a kind of kitchen magic that won't disappear into hungry mouths. My first attempt at dyeing fabric with plant materials was an exciting transformation that makes me want to try more.
I have been saving onion skins for months. Peeling off the translucent outer layers of yellow onions and tucking them Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-50159538456821042412016-02-18T08:41:00.001-05:002016-02-18T08:41:56.836-05:00There will be love and warmth
I made this quilt for our friends' baby. I thought it would be finished and arrive on their doorstep weeks before he was due, but he couldn't wait to see the world and arrived much earlier than expected. Now I hope he will be home before the quilt gets there.
My design for this quilt was inspired by the fanfare baby blanket that I somehow discovered via Made By Rae. It is a simple design, butAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-47242929275831270992016-02-03T12:04:00.002-05:002016-02-03T12:04:48.843-05:00Brunch
I can’t explain quite why I enjoy baking so much. Most of my making (food, crafts, art) is an attempt to understand and connect with the world. The inner workings of a croissant may not reveal the true nature of the universe, but it is ever so much more meaningful to me than just buying and consuming a pastry (we live near so many good bakeries that I buy and consume often, too!).
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-24397307148509848232016-01-26T07:27:00.003-05:002016-02-17T13:53:04.666-05:00Make the Best Use of It
Some days I am in the groove sitting snugly in my little boat rocking over the waves. I feel like I’ve finally arrived in a routine and rhythm that works. Without fail, I begin to believe that this is the way things will continue to go and that rough waters are behind me. Then the wind changes, the moment passes, a different day brings new and old challenges back to the surface. Early on asAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-63381900400178251922016-01-14T19:42:00.002-05:002016-01-14T19:42:37.944-05:00New Year New Baking
The beginning of the year nearly always has me eager to open cookbooks to find new recipes, dig up forgotten favorites, and reconnect with the kitchen rhythms interrupted by a lack of motivation or too many meals and treats out of the ordinary during the holidays. I’m not sure if it is the cold weather and my love of coziness or some sort of nesting instinct but right now I want to bake Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9025525185295021585.post-52092641174874393892015-12-29T16:23:00.002-05:002015-12-29T16:23:49.728-05:00In Between
These last days of the year always feel like a little bonus, a gentle cushion between the activities and excitement of Christmas and the planning, dreaming, back to business, clean slate of January. Some days may be just as busy as the preceding weeks but I always hope
there will be time to really relax and, if I'm lucky, read a book on the
couch all day. Its nice to have this transition Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511792627184497407noreply@blogger.com2